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Good points about engaging in this work has changed the ways the author both thinks and feels about the landscape and ecosystem. We've been learning about permaculture (old school Holzer, Mollison, Hemenway style) and small-scale homesteading for about 8 yrs now. Started from nearly scratch, in terms of practical gardening. Every bit of work I've done with bees (solitary mason bees) and other permaculture (garden, orchard, efficient irrigation solutions, swaling, synergistic plantings, etc) has been fascinating. The permaculture philosophy itself is more broadly-applicable than agriculture, in terms of a systems based view, but a lot of the practical instantiations are in ag, heating, irrigation, animal husbandry, etc. There's a lot on offer for many people who would be attracted to HN. E.g. looking at the thermodynamic aspects of siting water tanks, passive solar, masonry stoves, etc (physics and biomed background b4 software). Cost-wise and energetically a lot more scalable than widely existing solutions. Also improved my perceptive ability and appreciation for natural surroundings and different human landscapes. Anyhow, I'll get down off my soapbox now, but it's been a surprisingly rich vein of practical innovation and fun. If you're curious, check out "Gaia's Garden" by Hemenway or one of Bill Mollison's books (former in Portland, so small yards, latter doing more wide-reaching stuff in Australia and developing nations). |